(NaturalNews) One of the world's most popular non-caloric sweeteners has recently been exposed as a complete fraud. A new study published in the journal Diabetes Care reveals that Splenda (sucralose), which is commonly marketed to diabetics as a safe, non-nutritive sweetener (NNS), actually elicits a diabetes-promoting effect in people who consume it.

Researchers from the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, made this discovery after evaluating the metabolic effects of consuming Splenda on a small group of 17 human participants, all of whom were obese and who did not consume artificial sweeteners at the beginning of the study. Each participant was subjected to either Splenda or control water 10 minutes prior to undergoing a five-hour glucose tolerance test.

At the conclusion of the randomized crossover trial, the team observed that Splenda consumption prompted noticeable changes in terms of insulin production, circulating insulin levels, and bodily sensitivity to insulin. As relayed by GreenMedInfo.com, a single dose of Splenda was found to increase plasma glucose concentrations by 0.6 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L). It also led to a 20 percent spike in insulin levels, a 22 percent increased peak insulin secretion rate, a 7 percent decrease in insulin clearance, and a 23 percent decrease in insulin sensitivity.

"Compared with the control condition, sucralose ingestion caused 1) a greater incremental increase in peak plasma glucose concentrations, 2) a ... greater incremental increase in insulin area under the curve (AUC), 3) a ... greater peak insulin secretion rate, 4) a ... decrease in insulin clearance, and 5) a ... decrease in SI (insulin sensitivity)," wrote the authors in their abstract. "These data demonstrate that sucralose affects the glycemic and insulin responses to an oral glucose load in obese people who do not normally consume NNS."

This is all quite shocking, especially when considering that Splenda's entire existence is predicated on the notion that it is a safe and acceptable sweetening substitute for refined sugar products, which are widely known to spike blood glucose levels and trigger excess insulin production. Many diabetics use Splenda because they have been told that it has a minimal effect on blood sugar levels, and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

But it gets worse. Not only has Splenda now been shown to be detrimental for diabetics, but it has also previously been shown to cause a host of other health problems. A 2011 study published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, for instance, identified a link between sucralose consumption and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). And a 2008 study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A found that consumption of Splenda well below the FDA's acceptable daily intake levels disrupted gut flora in test rats.

Beyond this, Splenda has also been linked to causing migraine headaches, and numerous studies have found that the sweetening chemical is persistent in the environment. According to information compiled by GreenMedInfo.com, the discovery of sucralose, Splenda's primary active ingredient, was an accident -- pesticide researchers stumbled upon it after observing that it is closely related to the retired insecticide chemical DDT.

"Industry influence largely accounts for the fact that synthetic chemicals like aspartame, neotame, saccharin and sucralose are being foisted onto the public as 'safe,' non-calorie sweeteners, despite obvious research to the contrary," writes Sayer Ji for GreenMedInfo.com.

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